Brush construction



April 18, 1967 H. A. BERLINER BRUSH CONSTRUCTION Filed June 28, 1965 INVENTOR .flrilzy A Berliner BY W ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,314,096 BRUSH CONSTRUCTION Henry A. Berliner, 2841 Tilden St. NW., Washington, D.C. 20008 Filed June 28, 1965, Ser. No. 467,285 7 Claims. (Cl. 15-159) This invention relates generally to a novel brush construction and more particularly to a brush construction that is well adapted for use in manufacturing hairbrushes and the like.

In the present manufacture of such articles as hairbrushes, individual bristles are cut, arranged, and gathered into tufts, and the tufts are individually inserted into the brush head. Known methods of manufacturing these articles require a great deal of hand labor and a minimum amount of automation is permitted.

Another shortcoming of conventional hairbrushes and the like is that the stiffness of the bristles cannot be carefully regulated to suit the particular needs and preferences of the user nor can it be adjusted by the user to this end.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a brush construction that is readily susceptible to mass production.

Another important object is to provide a brush construction wherein the stiffness of the brush may be carefully regulated and/ or adjusted.

Another object is to provide a type of brush construction which may be employed in manufacturing a wide variety of types and styles of brushes, including, but not limited to, hairbrushes.

A further object is to provide a brush construction wherein the brushing elements are more resistant to wear and can be readily replaced by the user.

A still further object is to provide a brush construction which is economical to manufacture, durable in use, and pleasing in design.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a bottom plan view of a brush construction in accordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary cross-section taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a similar fragmentary cross-section disclosing the construction in adjusted position permitting greater flexibility of the bristles;

FIG. 4 is a similar fragmentary cross-section disclosing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a similar fragmentary cross-section disclosing another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective View depicting a modified form of bristles and mounting arrangement that may be employed in the invention.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, in FIG. 1 one embodiment of brush construction according to the invention is generally indicated by the numeral 1 and comprises a head portion 3 and a handle portion 5. A spiral groove 7 is formed in the underside of the head 3, beginning at a point adjacent the center thereof and spiralling outwardly to terminate, if desired, at a point along the periphery of the head. Groove 7 comprises and undercut portion 9, effecting one straight Wall, an upper projection 11 that extends from the other wall of the groove to provide a reduced neck portion thereof.

A simulated bristle arrangement is provided in the form of a continuous tape 13 of thin plastic material or the like. Tape 13 includes an outer edge portion 15 which is adapted to extend above the head 3 of the brush and which may be tapered slightly to provide less resistance 3,314,096 Patented Apr. 18, 1967 to bending at its outer end. The outer portion 15 of tape 13 is transversely cut in the form of closely spaced parallel slits to define a series of individual fingers 17 which extend throughout the entire length of the tape. Fingers 17 act in the nature of conventional bristles or tufts of bristles.

The inner edge portion 19 of the tape 13 is provided with an internal passageway 20 extending throughout its entire length, and it forms a tubing which is generally annular in configuration and closely corresponds with the cross-sectional area of the groove 7.

In manufacturing the article of FIG. 1, the tape 13 is an integral construction and it may be formed continuously and cut in lengths corresponding to the length of the spiral groove 7. The inner portion 19 of the tape is then seated in the groove and inflated to substantially fill the same. When the tube portion of tape 13 is partially inflated, as disclosed in FIG. 3, the tape is wedged tightly in position bet-ween the opposite side walls of groove 7 at a point spaced below the neck thereof. In this condition the fingers 17 are free to flex by bending at the level indicated at A. It is locked securely in position by virtue of the inflated portion underlying projection 11. If the tube is inflated to its full capacity, as shown in FIG. 2, it wedges tightly in the neck portion of the groove and the level of bending is raised to a point indicated by the letter B. Thus, the stiffness of the brush is significantly enhanced.

The tube may be permanently sealed after the proper degree of inflation has been reached or else a pump 21 can be provided at one end thereof so that the user can adjust the stiffness of the brush by adding or withdrawing pressure. This pump may be of the type shown in the United States patent to Berliner, 2,791,969, issued May 14, 1957, but any comparable pump may also be employed. If desired, a simple valve arrangement (not shown) in the nature of a conventional tire tube valve may be employed, with selective inflation being eflected by an independent pump.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the construction of the brush head is quite similar and corresponding numerals in the series have been employed to identify identical or corresponding elements. In this embodiment the tape 113 is manufactured in sheet form with no internal passage provided in the inner portion 119 thereof. A separate tubing 123 is disposed in the undercut portion 109 of the brush head 103 in side-by-side relation with respect to the tape 113. Upon inflation, the tubing 123 bears against the adjacent surface of the tape to lock the same in position and, depending .upon the degree of inflation, to adjust the level at which it will bend when the fingers 117 are deflected. The tubing 123 can, if desired, be permanently bonded to the adjacent surface of tape 113.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 is also generally similar to that shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, and corresponding parts have here been identified by the same numerals in the 200 series. The groove 207 is undercut as at 209 to provide opposed upper projections 211 extending from the opposite side walls of the groove and providing a reduced neck portion thereof. The tape 213 in this embodiment is formed of generally U-shaped configuration and thereby comprises two outer edge portions 215 adapted to extend above the head 203 of the projection. The tubular member 219 is disposed between the legs of U-shaped tape 213 and seated within the groove 207. The outer edge portions 215 are transversely slit as in the original embodiment, and it will be seen that twice as many fingers 217 will be thereby formed.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 illustrates how the principles of the present invention may be adapted to a hairbrush employing conventional bristles. In this embodiment, the tape 313 is relatively narrow, and tufts 317 of bristles are Q stapled in closely spaced relation along one side thereof. It will be recognized that any other suitable means for attaching the bristles 317 may be employed or that the tape 313 can be formed with the lower ends of the bristles embedded therein.

Numerous modifications as to size, style, configuration, materials and the like may be made in the various embodiments shown herein without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A brush construction, comprising: a brush head having groove means formed in the undersurface thereof; a continuous tape having its inner edge portion received in said groove and having a plurality of brushing elements provided on its outer edge portion, and inflatable tubular means positioned in said groove means and holding said tape means in position when inflated.

2. The brush construction of claim 1 wherein said tubular means is formed integrally with said tape means.

3. The brush construction of claim 1 wherein said tape means is of sheet form and said tubular means is disposed in side-by-side relation with respect to said inner edge portion thereof.

4. The brush construction of claim 1 wherein a pump is provided at one end of said tubular means for selectively and adjustably inflating the same.

5. The brush construction of claim 1 wherein a valve is provided at one end of said tubular means for selectively and adjustabiy inflating the same.

6. The brush construction of claim 1 wherein said groove means comprises a spirally arranged groove traversing substantially the entire area of said undersurface.

7. The brush construction of claim 6 wherein a projection extends from one wall of said groove means to effect reduced neck portion and an undercut groove portion and wherein said tubular means when partially inflated tightly engages the opposed walls of said groove means, said tubular means being further inflatable to substantially fill the cross-sectional area of said groove means below said projection.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,176,309 10/1939 Love et al l5ll0 2,730,753 1/1956 Gerber 10-169 X 2,882,544 4/1959 Hadidian 10167 3,110,918 11/1963 Tate 10184 X CHARLES A. WILLMUTH, Primary Examiner.

PETER FELDMAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A BRUSH CONSTRUCTION, COMPRISING: A BRUSH HEAD HAVING GROOVE MEANS FORMED IN THE UNDERSURFACE THEREOF; A CONTINUOUS TAPE HAVING ITS INNER EDGE PORTION RECEIVED IN SAID GROOVE AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF BRUSHING ELEMENTS PROVIDED ON ITS OUTER EDGE PORTION, AND INFLATABLE TUBULAR MEANS POSITIONED IN SAID GROOVE MEANS AND HOLDING SAID TAPE MEANS IN POSITION WHEN INFLATED. 